Israeli ground forces have carried out ground incursions into the Gaza Strip over the past 24 hours, the army said Friday, ahead of an expected ground offensive into the densely populated Palestinian territory.
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“Over the past 24 hours, Israeli army forces have carried out localized raids inside the territory of the Gaza Strip” to search for “terrorists” and “weaponry,” a statement said. During these operations, efforts were also made “to find missing people,” the army added.
The soldiers also “dismantled terrorist cells and infrastructure,” including “a Hamas cell that fired anti-tank missiles toward Israeli territory,” according to the statement.
The army launched the war after the bloody attack by the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas on October 7 from the Gaza Strip against Israel, which has since relentlessly shelled this small, poor territory, in a state of siege. At least 1,300 Israelis, mostly civilians, were killed, and around 150 people were kidnapped in Israel.
On the Palestinian side, the bombings left around 1,800 dead, including 583 children, and caused a massive displacement of the population in Gaza after the Israeli army ordered them to evacuate the north.